Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Funny Story

3 Cheesemonger Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level:🌶️/5

Funny story… How? Just how is this the best romance of 2024?

I know the phrase "Did I read the same book as everyone else?" is overused and some people don't like it, but apparently 170,000+ people voted for this book as the best romance of the year. And honestly? That just makes it worse! LIKE THIS BOOK... This is what people set AS the standard and claim that this is the epitome of the ROMANCE genre. Funny Story is the book that represents everything great about romance! It just makes me so sad. Because I can name multiple romances that had better character development, better storytelling, better emotional depth, and, you know… MORE romance (which this book was missing entirely).

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Our FMC, Daphne, is a very average librarian (borderline forgettable librarian because I basically forgot everything about her when I finished the book) who thought she had "the perfect life." She was engaged to the "perfect" man, and their relationship was straight out of a storybook. That is… until his female best friend (of course) confessed her love to him on the night of his bachelor party. And instead of sticking to his commitment to Daphne, he thought fuck it, I’ve always wanted to tap that and broke off the engagement. Now Daphne is homeless, boyfriend-less, and generally pathetic (sorry, but she kinda is). So what does she do? She moves in with Miles, who just so happens to be the ex-boyfriend of her ex-fiancé’s new girlfriend. Because why just suffer alone when you can double your trauma by living with the guy who got dumped for the same reason?

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
This book was painfully predictable... Daphne moves in with Miles who she has been told is basically a "waste of space stoner", but SHOCKING... He is actually a nice guy and the more she spends time with him she realises how nice he actually is and how everything she has been told about him is wrong because he is sweet, likeable, and just generally the best person ever!

Like don't get me wrong... THIS BOOK IS NOT BAD... I am just upset that it means so much more!!!

Daphne just felt very underwhelming... She's not a very good friend, not overly witty, or has anything that makes her stand out. She is boring and as such I felt it very hard to connect with her and Miles's romance...

AND WHAT WAS THE WHOLE THIRD-ACT BREAKUP MISCOMMUNICATION MESS? LIKE I wanted to throw my earbuds out the window when that shitstorm happened... Like I cannot deal with that idiocy!

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Roommates to Lovers
▶ Single POV
▶ Fake Dating
▶ Opposites Attract
▶ Ex's New Partners Ex
▶ Cinnamon Roll/Golden Retriever
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Miscommunication
▶ Third Act Breakup

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ "More"
▷ Undressing/Dressing Help
▷ Rolled Sleeves/Forearms
▷ Tattooed MMC
▷ Forehead Kisses
▷ "Hold on to the..."
▷ "Don't Stop"
▷ Chin Lift

I honestly can’t wrap my head around how this book won Best Romance of the Year. It’s not terrible, but it is entirely forgettable. please be better next year

I do want to give kudos to Julia Whelan, as she did a phenomenal job with the narration of this story... It was not her fault it was just a meh story.

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jdanby's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such a beautifully written book that hit home with pretty much everything.

Daddy issues, idolizing Mom, more comfortable as a “we” than an “I”… Emily, I feel personally attacked.

With the romance specifically, I really loved Daphne and Mile’s chemistry and appreciated that neither of them

were hung up on their ex’s after the big breakup in the beginning.

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efm5584's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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milrose44's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

All I want in life is my own version of Miles

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jbabbm's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Not surprisingly, Emily Henry made me fall in love with another of her books. I truly loved Funny Story, I deeply relate to Daphne and except the fiancé-fiasco we basically share the same life story. Henry truly moved my heart with this one, and even helped me heal pieces of my upbringing with this story. Most importantly, it has reminded me to not run away when life gets messy and to be willing to experience the surprises life might throw at you

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lunep's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is my first Emily Henry and I have to say...I'm a little disappointed ngl
I enjoyed it, it hooked me from the start, and the love interest, Miles, was very swoony and made me giggle and kick my feet, but I dont know, I had to stop in the middle of the third act conflict reconciliation scene and when I picked it back up the next morning I was left feeling dissatisfied

Pros:

Even tho I've seen reviews saying Miles
helping Petra move and leaving Daphne hanging was shitty and meant he really wasn't over Petra (among other things I don't remember very well)
, I disagree, I think Miles' actions throughout the book (
minus him standing Daphne up
) showed that he cared deeply about Daphne and truly valued her, I really liked his character.
I also really liked Ashleigh and Julia, and Daphne's friendships with both of them, I liked the conflict with Ashleigh too, and how Emily Henry resolved it.
In general I had a good time reading it

Cons:

I was weirded out by the way Daphne mentioned her nipples a couple times, nothing wrong with talking abt nipples ofc, it's just the way it was written was really weird ("My nipples are tightening against his chest (...)" and "(...) my nipples choose that instant to stand at attention, like eager little meerkats" are two I highlighted that were weird).
I would have liked more awkward-roomates phase, I felt the story went from "I'm living with this guy who I don't know" to "My roommate is invested on making me stay in this town and we're besties"; because of that, I also felt that the attraction was somewhat insta-lovey/insta-lusty.
Re: Daphne, there was a moment where she felt like "Oh I'm not like other girls" (also, the trope of girl that dresses drab and doesnt realize she's pretty but every guy falls in love with her was present, too), and also, she always says oh im so bad with people and at small talk and yet she always talks perfectly fine, with witty banter, and without putting her foot in her mouth.
For being a fake dating book, they only committed when they were near Peter and Petra, and told SO MANY PEOPLE that it was fake, yet it never bit them in the ass (which I think could have been interesting)
Oh, and also, even tho there was character development,
for so much of Daphne's self introspection about how after her break-up with Peter she was left alone bc she never bothered to make her own friends and only tried to befriend Peter's friend, she eventually ended up in a really similar situation with Miles (which I get is bc they became friends first, and created their little friend group while being friends, but still): she befriended his sister and people he already knew and was friendly with, and the friend she made at work also became friends with Miles, becoming a singular friend group

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lottebluebird's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Die Kennenlern-Geschichte von Daphne und Miles hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Zwei Menschen mit Ecken und Kanten von denen keiner perfekt ist. Die verworrene Geschichte beginnt damit, dass sich Daphnes Verlobter am Abend des Junggesellenabschieds von ihr trennt, um mit seiner Kindergarten Freundin Petra durchzubrennen. Da Daphne nicht weiß wohin, kommt sie notgedrungen in der Wohnung von Petras Ex Miles unter, der auch unter der plötzlichen Trennung zu leiden hat.

Endlich mal eine Grumpy-Sunshine Romanze bei der die Frau, die etwas pessimistische und der Mann der Sonnenschein ist.

Auch als Hörbuch sehr zu empfehlen 👌🏻

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